The Arapeen OHV Trail System

Blue Lake on the Arapeen OHV Trail System

We just completed a wonderful six weeks at Pine Mountain, located east of Spring City on a gateway road into the Arapeen OHV Trail System. This set of roads and trails, many open to 4X4 vehicles as well as off-road vehicles, is located in the Manti-LaSal National Forest.  The roads and trails are maintained by the National Forest Service and are well marked with signs bearing the road number.  System maps are available – free – at the Forest Service Offices in Ephraim, Ferron, Price, Moab and Monticello.

The main road linking the trails is #1, Skyline Drive.  It’s classified as a 4X4 road, and in certain sections you can drive a 2 wheel drive vehicle over it, but great deal of the road is pretty rutted.  I’m picturing the first sunny day in March, an old 4 wheel drive truck, a six pack of Keystone Light, and “damn the mud and snow – full speed ahead.”  That’s probably not what happened, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 

The trails are rated like ski runs –green for easy, blue for intermediate, black for advanced.  The color code is on the actual signs marking the trails.  But look carefully at the colors on the map. We learned the hard way that a green line for a trail on the map doesn’t mean it’s easy.  It means it’s restricted to ATVs 50” or less in width.  They take this width restriction very seriously.  The gate to enter the trail is just a bit wider.  Seriously.  We cleared one of the gates by ½ inch on either side.  The gate is also stationary.  If you don’t fit through, you don’t ride the trail.  Case closed.

Most of the ATV-only trails are two-track, alternating through dense forest and open meadows.  The Reeder Canyon trail and the other road #5 (still confused) had steep uphill and downhill sections punctuated by Forest Service speed bumps – actually culverts to divert running water.  There are several reservoirs along the trail, many with fishing and camping opportunities. 

We rode in this area more than a dozen times during our stay at Pine Mountain and still have trails and loops we have yet to ride. Interested?  You can download the trail map here.  Happy Trails!